Light reception of Phycomyces revisited: several white collar proteins confer blue- and red-light sensitivity and control dynamic range and adaptation.

The giant-fruiting body, sporangiophore, of the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus grows toward near-UV/blue-light (phototropism). The blue-light photoreceptor, MadA, should contain FAD bound to the LOV domain, and forms a complex with MadB. Both proteins are homologs of white collar proteins WC-1 and WC-2 from the fungus Neurospora crassa and should be localized in nuclei, where they function as a light-sensitive transcription factor complex. The photoreceptor properties of two further Wc proteins, WcoA and WcoB, remain unclear because of lack of mutants. We propose that WcoA and/or WcoB play essential roles in photoreception by enlarging the dynamic range that help explain complex stimulus-response relationships. Even though red light does not elicit photo-movement or -differentiation in Phycomyces, it affects the effectiveness of blue light which indicates an underlying photochromic receptor. Protein sequence searches show that other fungal red-light receptors are absent in Phycomyces. The solution to the red-light riddle is thus sought in the ability of Wc complexes to generate after blue-light irradiation a neutral flavosemiquinone radical that absorbs red light and functions as primary photochemical signal. Phototropism requires Ras-GAP (MadC) as part of the signal transduction cascade and, we propose, to allocate photoreceptors in the plasmalemma of the growing zone, which allows for receptor dichroism, range adjustment and contrast recognition for spatial orientation. Phototropic signal chains must entail transduction networks between Wc receptors and small G-proteins and their associated Ras-GAP and Ras-GEF proteins. The interactions among these proteins should occur in trans-Golgi vesicles and the plasmalemma of the growing zone.

The interactions of vanadate monomer with the mycelium of fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus: reduction or uptake?

The possibility of reduction of vanadate monomer in the mycelium of fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus was investigated in this study by means of polarography. Control experiments were performed with vanadyl [V(IV)] and vanadate [V(V)] in 10 mM Hepes, pH 7.2. Addition of P. blakesleeanus mycelium resulted in disappearance of all V(IV) polarographic waves recorded in the control. This points to the uptake of all available V(IV) by the mycelium, up to 185 µmol/gFW, and suggests P. blakesleeanus as a potential agent in V(IV) bioremediation. Polarographic measurements of mycelium with low concentrations (0.1-1 mM) of V(V), that only allows the presence of monomer, showed that fungal mycelia removes around 27% of V(V) from the extracellular solution. Uptake was saturated at 104 ± 2 µmol/gFW which indicates excellent bioaccumulation capability of P. blakesleeanus. EPR, 51V NMR and polarographic experiments showed no indications of any measurable extracellular complexation of V(V) monomer with fungal exudates, reduction by the mycelium or adsorption to the cell wall. Therefore, in contrast to vanadium oligomers, vanadate monomer interactions with the mycelium are restricted to its transport into the fungal cell, probably by a phosphate transporter.

(51)V NMR investigation of cell-associated vanadate species in Phycomyces blakesleeanus mycelium.

(51)V NMR spectroscopy was used for detection and identification of cell-associated vanadate (V(5+)) species after exposure of Phycomyces blakesleeanus mycelium, in exponential phase of growth, to sodium orthovanadate. Complete disappearance of monomer and dimer signals and decreased intensity of the tetramer signal were observed about 40 min after treatment. Simultaneously, a signal at -532 ppm, with increasing intensity, was detected in spectra. The time-dependent rise in this signal was connected to a decrease in the extracellular monomer signal, indicating its transport into the cell. The signal at -532 ppm did not belong to any known simple oxido-vanadate species, nor to a complex with any of the components of experimental medium. This signal was the only one present in spectrum of the mycelium washed 35 min after treatment, and the only one observed in mycelium cultivated on vanadate-contained medium. Therefore, its appearance can be attributed to intracellular complexation, and may represent an important detoxification mechanism of the cell exposed to a physiologically relevant concentration of vanadate. Experiments ((51)V NMR and polarography) performed with Cd-pretreated mycelium (inhibitor of an enzyme responsible for V(5+) reduction) and ferricyanide-preincubated mycelium excluded the possibility of V(5+) tetramer's entry into the cell.

Cyclofarnesoids and methylhexanoids produced from ß-carotene in Phycomyces blakesleeanus.

The oxidative cleavage of ß-carotene in the Mucorales produces three fragments of 18, 15, and 7 carbons, respective heads of three families of apocarotenoids: the methylhexanoids, the trisporoids, and the cyclofarnesoids (named after their 1,6-cyclofarnesane skeleton). The apocarotenoids are easily recognized because they are absent in white mutants unable to produce ß-carotene. In cultures of Phycomyces blakesleeanus we detected thirty-two apocarotenoids by LC, UV absorbance, and MS. With additional IR and NMR we identified two methylhexanoids and the eight most abundant cyclofarnesoids. Four of them were previously-unknown natural compounds, including 4-dihydrocyclofarnesine S, the most abundant cyclofarnesoid in young cultures. We arranged the apocarotenoids of the Mucorales in a scheme that helps classifying and naming them and suggests possible metabolites and biosynthetic pathways. We propose specific biosynthetic pathways for cyclofarnesoids and methylhexanoids based on structural comparisons, the time course of appearance of individual compounds, and the bioconversion of ß-apo-12-carotenol, an early precursor, to three more oxygenated cyclofarnesoids by the white mutants. Some of the reactions occur spontaneously in the increasingly acidic culture media. Mating increased the contents of methylhexanoids and cyclofarnesoids by ca. threefold in young cultures and ca. twelvefold in old ones (five days); cyclofarnesine S, the most abundant cyclofarnesoid in old cultures, increased over one hundredfold. We found no differences between the sexes and no activity as sexual pheromones, but we suggest that methylhexanoids and cyclofarnesoids could mediate species-specific physiology and behavior.

Deciphering the uniqueness of Mucoromycotina cell walls by combining biochemical and phylogenomic approaches.

Most fungi from the Mucoromycotina lineage occur in ecosystems as saprobes, although some species are phytopathogens or may induce human mycosis. Mucoromycotina represent early diverging models that are most valuable for understanding fungal evolution. Here we reveal the uniqueness of the cell wall structure of the Mucoromycotina Rhizopus oryzae and Phycomyces blakesleeanus compared with the better characterized cell wall of the ascomycete Neurospora crassa. We have analysed the corresponding polysaccharide biosynthetic and modifying pathways, and highlight their evolutionary features and higher complexity in terms of gene copy numbers compared with species from other lineages. This work uncovers the presence in Mucoromycotina of abundant fucose-based polysaccharides similar to algal fucoidans. These unexpected polymers are associated with unusually low amounts of glucans and a higher proportion of chitin compared with N. crassa. The specific structural features are supported by the identification of genes potentially involved in the corresponding metabolic pathways. Phylogenomic analyses of genes encoding carbohydrate synthases, polysaccharide modifying enzymes and enzymes involved in nucleotide-sugar formation provide evidence for duplication events during evolution of cell wall metabolism in fungi. Altogether, the data highlight the specificity of Mucoromycotina cell walls and pave the way for a finer understanding of their metabolism.

Apocarotenoids in the sexual interaction of Phycomyces blakesleeanus.

A simple genetic test allowed us to carry out the first systematic study of the apocarotenoids in the Mucorales. We have identified 13 apocarotenoids in the culture media of the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus (Mucoromycota, Mucorales). Three of these compounds were novel apocarotenoids: (2S,8R,E)-8,14-epoxycyclofarnesa-4,6,9-triene-2,11-diol (6), (2S,6E,8E)-cyclofarnesa-4,6,8-triene-2,10,11-triol (7), and its 6Z isomer (8). Four of the remaining compounds have been reported previously from this fungus and six from other Mucorales. All of them belong to three families, the 18-carbon trisporoids, the 15-carbon cyclofarnesoids, and the 7-carbon methylhexanoids, derived from the three fragments that result when ß-carotene is cleaved at its 11',12' and 12,13 double bonds. The apocarotenoids were more varied and more abundant in mated cultures of strains of opposite sex than in single cultures. The presence of acetate in the medium blocked the production of many apocarotenoids while having little effect on the concentrations of the remaining ones.

Splitting of beta-carotene in the sexual interaction of Phycomyces.

Two new 7-carbon compounds, 1 and 2, have been found in the culture medium of Phycomyces blakesleeanus. A genetic test showed that they derive from beta-carotene. These new molecules represent the missing link that proves that beta-carotene is split into fragments of 18, 15 and 7 carbon fragments, each head of a separate family of apocarotenoids.

Protein-DNA interactions in the promoter region of the Phycomyces carB and carRA genes correlate with the kinetics of their mRNA accumulation in response to light.

Carotene biosynthesis in Phycomyces is photoinducible and carried out by phytoene dehydrogenase (encoded by carB) and a bifunctional enzyme possessing lycopene cyclase and phytoene synthase activities (carRA). A light pulse followed by periods of darkness produced similar biphasic responses in the expression of the carB and carRA genes, indicating their coordinated regulation. Specific binding complexes were formed between the carB-carRA intergenic region and protein extracts from wild type mycelia grown in the dark or 8min after irradiation. These two conditions correspond to the points at which the expression of both genes is minimal, suggesting that these binding complexes are involved in the down-regulation of photocarotenogenesis in Phycomyces. Protein extracts from carotene mutants failed to form the dark retardation complex, suggesting a role of these genes in the regulation of photocarotenogenesis. In contrast, protein extracts from phototropic mutants formed dark retardation complexes identical to that of the wild type.

Outwardly rectifying anionic channel from the plasma membrane of the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus.

In the present report, by using a patch clamp technique, we provide, to our knowledge, the first detailed description of an anionic channel from filamentous fungi. The characterized channel, an outwardly rectifying anionic channel (ORAC), is the most prominent feature of the cell membrane of the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus in the absence of energizing substrates. The unitary conductance of the channel is 11.3 +/- 0.4 pS. It is characterized by a strong voltage dependence of the open-channel probability (zdelta; the gating charge is 2.1 +/- 0.1), and the channel is activated by depolarization. The values of the time constants for voltage-induced activation and deactivation of 28 +/- 3 ms for tau(a) and 39 +/- 9 ms for tau(d) show that the ORAC is characterized by fast activation/deactivation kinetics. The ORAC shows strong selectivity for anions over cations and weak selectivity among anions, with a selectivity sequence of I(-) >or= NO(3)(-) > Br(-) > Cl(-) > SO(4)(2-) = 4.8 > 4.4 > 2.2 > 1 > 0.55, which corresponds to Eisenman series 1. The channel is characterized by two open and two closed states, with dominant long open (tau(o2) = 35.0 +/- 3.9 ms) and long closed (tau(c2) = 166 +/- 28 ms) states occupying 63% +/- 8% and 79% +/- 3% of total open and closed times, respectively. The ORAC is insensitive to anthracene-9-carboxylic acid (<200 microM), but 2 mM malate reversibly inhibits 59% +/- 12% of the channel activity. Based on the electrophysiological properties of the channel, we propose that the ORAC plays a role in anion accumulation and in membrane potential regulation through local membrane depolarization.

31P NMR study of polyphosphate levels during different growth phases of Phycomyces blakesleeanus.

The changes in relative polyphosphate content, estimated as the intensity ratio of core polyphosphate signal and intracellular inorganic phosphate signal from 31P NMR spectra, during the growth of Phycomyces blakesleeanus are reported. The ratio increases from 16 h to 28 h of growth, the minimum occurs at 32 h, followed by sharp increase up to 36 h, and a steady decrease afterwards. The changes in the biomass during mycelium growth showed steady increases, with a stagnation period between 32 h and 36 h during which a pronounced increase in the intensity ratio of core polyphosphates to intracellular inorganic phosphate signal occurred. The reduction of growth temperature from 22 degrees C to 18 degrees C significantly decreased the rate and intensity of growth, but the pattern of polyphosphate changes remained unchanged. The changes of the intensity ratio of core polyphosphates to intracellular inorganic phosphate signal are linked to characteristic stages of sporangiophore development. Analysis of core polyphosphates, intracellular inorganic phosphate and beta-ATP signal intensities suggest the role of polyphosphates as an energy and/or a phosphate reserves during Phycomyces development.

An endophytic fungus from Nothapodytes foetida that produces camptothecin.

A fungal endophytic isolate, camptothecin, has been isolated from the inner bark of the plant Nothapodytes foetidafrom the Western coast of India. The fungus, which belongs to the family Phycomycetes, produced the anticancer drug lead compound camptothecin (1) when grown in a synthetic liquid medium (Sabouraud broth) under shake flask and bench scale fermentation conditions. Compound 1 was identified by means of chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. It was also compared with an authentic example for its biological activity against a number of human cancer cell lines. Isolation of an organism producing 1 and its fermentation may, in the future, provide an easily accessible source for the production of this anticancer drug precursor molecule.

The gene for the heat-shock protein HSP100 is induced by blue light and heat-shock in the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus.

We cloned and sequenced the Phycomyces hspA gene. The hspA gene product is a 901-amino-acid protein member of the clpB/HSP100 family. HSP100 proteins are ATPases involved in high-temperature tolerance, proteolysis, and protein disaggregation. Phycomyces HSP100 is composed of a domain presumably involved in protein-protein interactions and two ATP-binding domains. The hspA promoter contains three heat-shock elements that are presumably involved in the activation of hspA after heat-shock. In addition, four short sequences are present in the hspA promoter and in the promoter of the photoinducible genes carB and carRA; and these are candidates as binding sites for light-regulated transcription factors. Blue light can increase transcription of the hspA gene 10-fold, with a threshold of 1 J/m2. The threshold for hspA photoactivation is 10(4) times higher than the thresholds for blue-light regulation of sporangiophore development and photocarotenogenesis, which suggests that there are differences in the photosensory systems for gene photoactivation and mycelial photoresponses. A heat-shock of 30 min at 34 degrees C or 42 degrees C increased hspA gene activity 160-fold. The differences in maximum hspA gene transcription by blue light and heatshock suggest the presence of different regulatory mechanisms.

Statoliths in Phycomyces: characterization of octahedral protein crystals.

To identify the molecular mechanisms of gravitropism in the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus we determined several biochemical and physical parameters of paracrystalline protein bodies, so-called octahedral crystals. The crystals, which are present throughout the central vacuoles of the sporangiophore, function as statoliths (Schimek et al., 1999a,b). They possess an average volume of 9.96 microm(3) and a specific mass of 1.26 g cm(-3). SDS-PAGE of purified crystals shows three major proteins with relative molecular masses of 16, 46.5, and 55 kDa. These proteins are absent in gravitropism mutants which lack the crystals. Phototropism mutants (genotype mad) which are graviresponsive (class 1) and those which are defective in gravitropism (class 2) contain the crystals and the three associated proteins. Absorption spectra of isolated crystals and in situ absorption spectra of growing zones indicate the presence of chromophores, probably oxidized and reduced flavins. The flavin nature of the chromophores is also indicated by their fluorescence properties. It appears likely that the chromophores represent an essential part of the statoliths and thus the gravitropic transduction chain.

Protein crystals in Phycomyces sporangiophores are involved in graviperception.

The sporangiophores of the zygomycete fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus contain octahedral crystals with diameters of up to 5 micrometers in their vacuole. The crystals are associated with the intracellular membrane system. In tilted or horizontally placed sporangiophores, the crystals sediment to the respective lower face of the vacuole with a velocity of up to 100 micrometers per minute. The sedimentation is completed within about 2 minutes, well within the latency period for the negative gravitropic response of Phycomyces. Crystal-lacking mutant strains display a smaller maximal bending angle and a reduced gravitropic bending rate in comparison to the wild type. We therefore conclude that the crystals serve as statoliths for gravitropism in Phycomyces.

Phycomysterols and other sterols from the fungus Phycomyces blakesleeanus.

In the search for novel bioactive products from filamentous fungi, sterols and triterpenoids found in Phycomyces blakesleeanus were analyzed using semipreparative HPLC, GC-MS, and NMR techniques. Structures proposed for the three new compounds identified, phycomysterol A (1), phycomysterol B (2), and neoergosterol (3), were confirmed by chemical synthesis. Phycomysterols possess a new natural 19-norergostane skeleton with an aromatic B ring. Phycomysterol A showed anti-HIV activity.

Mutants of phycomyces with decreased gallic acid content.

Most plants and some fungi accumulate phenols. Two hydroxybenzoic acids, gallic and protocatechuic acids, are abundant in the giant sporangiophores of the zygomycete Phycomyces blakesleeanus, much more so than in the basal mycelium or the culture medium. The actual concentrations vary with illumination, age of the culture, and composition of the medium. We devised a simple screening procedure to isolate hba mutants whose sporangiophores contained less gallic acid than the wild type. The most useful mutant had very low concentrations of hydroxybenzoic acids in the sporangiophores, but about the same as the wild type in the basal mycelium and the medium. The mutant was only slightly different from the wild type in growth and morphology. Mutant and wild-type sporangiophores grew away from ultraviolet C sources (260 nm) equally well. Contrary to previous conjectures, ultraviolet tropism does not depend on the ultraviolet absorption of gallic acid or other free hydroxybenzoic acids in the sporangiophore. Against expectations, phenols did not impair DNA extraction: sporangiophores produced better DNA preparations than basal mycelia and the hba mutant only slightly better than the wild type.